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A very thought-provoking piece, and I particularly like the mention of the roots of Obama's supposedly softer line, i.e. his concern for NATO integrity. (But let's not forget Obama too is for "reforms" (read austerity)). However I don't for one second believe Tsipras wanted to "lose" the referendum. When he first called it I denounced him as chickenshit for not going ahead himself and saying No to the troika, and for instead risking disorganization and demobilization, all so he could go back and negotiate a slightly better deal. Fortunately the referendum regalvanized Greek and other workers beyond even our hopes. And if Tsipras is still using the results only as a bargaining chip, that's to be expected. But once again he may surprise us and pull the plug in favor of Grexit. On Wed, Jul 8, 2015 at 1:23 PM, Marv Gandall via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > The astute Telegraph financial columnist, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, who has > closely followed the unfolding crisis in Greece, says the Syriza leadership > never expected to win the referendum and is trapped by its own success. It > can no longer accede to the punishing demands for greater austerity by the > German-led eurozone and the IMF nor does it want to leave the currency > union, an impossible contradiction which has revealed itself in the > hesitant and confusing political direction of the Tsipras government in its > first five months in office. > > “Mr Tsipras had already made the decision to acquiesce to austerity > demands, recognizing that Syriza had failed to bring about a debtors’ > cartel of southern EMU states and had seriously misjudged the mood across > the eurozone”, E-P writes. A Yes vote which would have mandated that Syriza > hand over or share power with a new government to the right prepared to > promptly surrender to the creditors’ demands. > > Now Syriza’s leadership must bear the full responsibility of capitulating > against the will of the Greek masses who defiantly rejected that course on > Sunday, or must effectively leave the eurozone, E-P reports that the > government’s inner cabinet explored in detail and again retreated from the > latter option last week prior to the unexpected referendum result. > > If the Syriza government is finally left with no choice but to reject the > ever-escalating austerity demands of the eurozone powers, the only > remaining question is whether it will be a chaotic process or one managed > in concert with the eurozone powers. Despite the Telegraph columnist’s > overwrought contention that that “Syriza has been in utter disarray for 36 > hours…events are now spinning out of control…Greece is in turmoil, so is > Europe”, Greece’s rupture with the eurozone is not a foregone conclusion. > > The US, Germany, and their more important allies are nervous and uncertain > about the potential social, economic, and geopolitical consequences of a > Greek exit. German banks and exporters, in particular, have benefited > hugely from the creation of the eurozone, Greece is an important strategic > asset for US and NATO military planners, and there are legal impediments to > Greece’s formal expulsion from the eurozone. Not least, the inspiring Greek > challenge to austerity may provide a powerful stimulus to similar mass > movements in Spain, Italy, France, and the other European countries - a > less reported concern of the eurozone governments. > > > http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11724924/Europe-is-blowing-itself-apart-over-Greece-and-nobody-can-stop-it.html > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/acpollack2%40gmail.com > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
